Hosea 12:4

Hosea 12:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Yea, he had power over the angel, and prevailed: he wept, and made supplication unto him: he found him in Beth–el, and there he spake with us;
• New International Version (NIV)He struggled with the angel and overcame him; he wept and begged for his favor. He found him at Bethel and talked with him there—
• English Standard Version (ESV)He strove with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought his favor. He met God at Bethel, and there God spoke with us—
• New King James Version (NKJV)Yes, he struggled with the Angel and prevailed; He wept, and sought favor from Him. He found Him in Bethel, And there He spoke to us—

Context of Hosea 12:4

2The Lord brings charges against Judah and punishes Jacob because of the way their people act. He will pay them back for what they have done. 3Their ancestor Jacob held on to his brother’s heel while the two of them were in their mother’s womb. When Jacob became a man, he struggled with God. He struggled with the Messenger and won. Jacob cried and pleaded with him. Jacob found him at Bethel, and he talked with him there. 5The Lord is the God of Armies. The Lord is the name by which he is remembered. 6Return to your God. Be loyal and fair, and always wait with hope for your God.

Hosea 12:4 word by word

וָיָּ֤שַׂר אֶל־מַלְאָךְ֙ וַיֻּכָ֔ל בָּכָ֖ה וַיִּתְחַנֶּן־ל֑וֹ בֵּֽית־אֵל֙ יִמְצָאֶ֔נּוּ וְשָׁ֖ם יְדַבֵּ֥ר עִמָּֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Yea, he had powerשׂוּרώûr · to reignH7786
• over the angelמַלְאָךְmal'âk · messenger: angelH4397
• and prevailedיָכֹלyâkôl yâkôl · be ableH3201
• he weptבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
• and made supplicationחָנַןchânan · be graciousH2603
• unto him: he foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• Beth–elבֵּֽיתְ־אֵלbêyth-'êl · BethelH1008
• and there he spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696

Cross-references for Hosea 12:4

• Genesis 32:29Jacob said, “Please tell me your name.” The man answered, “Why do you ask for my name?” Then he blessed Jacob there.
• Genesis 48:15Then Jacob blessed Joseph, “May God, in whose presence my grandfather Abraham and my father Isaac walked, may God, who has been my shepherd all my life to this very day,
• Exodus 3:2The Messenger of the Lord appeared to him there as flames of fire coming out of a bush. Moses looked, and although the bush was on fire, it was not burning up.
• Isaiah 63:9In all their troubles he was troubled, and he was the Messenger who saved them. In his love and compassion he reclaimed them. He always held them and carried them in the past.
• Malachi 3:1“I’m going to send my messenger, and he will clear the way ahead of me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the promise will come. He is the one you want,” says the Lord of Armies.
• Acts 7:30“Forty years later, a Messenger appeared to him in the flames of a burning bush in the desert of Mount Sinai.
• Genesis 32:9Then Jacob prayed, “God of my grandfather Abraham and God of my father Isaac! Lord, you said to me, ‘Go back to your land and to your relatives, and I will make you prosperous.’
• Hebrews 5:7During his life on earth, Jesus prayed to God, who could save him from death. He prayed and pleaded with loud crying and tears, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.
• Genesis 28:11When he came to a certain place, he stopped for the night because the sun had gone down. He took one of the stones from that place, put it under his head, and lay down there.
• Genesis 35:9Then God appeared once more to Jacob after he came back from Paddan Aram, and he blessed him.
• Psalms 66:6He turned the sea into dry land. They crossed the river on foot. We rejoiced because of what he did there.
• 1 Thessalonians 4:17Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way we will always be with the Lord.
• Hebrews 6:13God made a promise to Abraham. Since he had no one greater on whom to base his oath, he based it on himself.

Commentaries on Hosea 12:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4He had power over the Angel - Who represented the invisible Jehovah. He wept, and made supplication - He entreated with tears that God would bless him; and he prevailed. The circumstance of his weeping is not mentioned in Genesis. He found him in Beth-el - It was there that God made those glorious promises to Jacob relative to his posterity. See Genesis 28:13-15.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4He wept and made supplication unto Him - Jacob‘s weeping is not mentioned by Moses. Hosea then knew more than Moses related. He could not have gathered it out of Moses, for Moses relates the words of earnest supplication; yet the tone is that of one, by force of earnest energy, wresting, as it were, the blessing from God, not of one weeping. Yet Hosea adds this, in harmony with Moses. For “vehement desires and earnest petitions frequently issue in tears.”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4he found Him at Bethel: See Genesis 28:11–22.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. the angel--the uncreated Angel of the Covenant, as God the Son appears in the Old Testament (Mal 3:1). made supplication--Ge 32:26: "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me." he found him--The angel found Jacob, when he was fleeing from Esau into Syria: the Lord appearing to him "in Beth-el" (Ge 28:11-19; 35:1). What a sad contrast, that in this same Beth-el now Israel worships the golden calves! there he spake with us--"with us," as being in the…Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 12:4

• Beth-El
• Israel
• Jesus, the Christ
• Prayer

In the dictionaries

• Jacob
• Penuel
• Calf, Golden
• Hosea
• Jacob (1)
• Jeroboam
• Jeshurun
• Sarah; Sarai
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Hosea 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings